At the Dawn of Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, fueled by rising tensions between Islamic radicalists and the autocratic
policies of the Shah of Iran, a revolt was ensued. President Carter decided to admit the Shah, who was a former American
ally, into the United States for medical treatment. This caused the Iranian Revolutionaries to invade the U.S. Embassy
and seize 53 American hostages. who worked there.
President Carter tried several times in vain to retrieve the hostages,
who were not released until after the election and the inaguration of new president Regan.
Allegedly
Regan's Administration purposely contacted the Islamic radicalists and had influenced them to withhold the hostages longer.
Since this was near the elections, having the seized Americans come home before the election would make Carter look
like a hero and may push the votes in his favor. Regan's Administration realizing this, debunked his attempts at releasing
them. This means Regan purposely had Americans continue to be held hostage for over half a year, just to influence an
election. According to reports, the hostages were released 20 minutes after Regan's swearing into office.
